समाचार

With ratings in a slump so far this season, the NBA has needed someone to come off the bench and ball out. Cue the New Orleans Pelicans debut of Zion Williamson.

The much-heralded number 1 pick from the 2019 draft had sat out the first 44 games of the Pelicans’ season with a knee injury, but last night, he announced himself on basketball’s biggest stage in style, and viewers tuned in to watch.

Wednesday’s game may have ended in a narrow 121-117 defeat for the Pelicans against the San Antonio Spurs, but the victory really went to ESPN, as it delivered its highest-rated non-Christmas game so far this season (tied with the Lakers vs. Mavericks encounter from Nov. 1) with a cable-topping 1.0 rating among adults 18-49.

Williamson’s dominant presence propelled the game to 2.36 million total viewers, which represents an 88% increase in viewership versus last year’s comparable game, peaking at around 2.8 million viewers.